BackHome
Refresh: OffView Personal Schedule
Individual Submission Summary
Share...

Direct link:

Problem behaviors and academic achievement: A cross-lagged study in early childhood

Fri, April 9, 10:15 to 11:15am EDT (10:15 to 11:15am EDT), Virtual

Abstract

Behavioral and academic problems place children at heightened risk for school disengagement, academic failure, dropout, and subsequent challenges during adulthood (Roeser & Peck, 2003). Students exhibit early problem behaviors could compromise their school learning and academic achievement. Researchers have demonstrated a link between behavioral and academic problems (Valdez et al., 2011). Emerging research suggests that behavioral and academic problems do not function unidirectionally, but instead work reciprocally to predict later school maladjustment and failure (Masten et al., 2005). Whereas, findings on the reciprocal associations between problem behaviors and academic achievement are less conclusive. A nuanced understanding of the complex mechanisms between behavioral and academic problems could strengthen our capacity to assess and identify students’ barriers to learning and help inform the development of evidence-based intervention efforts.

Early childhood is a critical period full of rapid growth and development. However, there is a paucity of research examining the reciprocal associations between behavioral and academic problems in early childhood. This study investigated how problem behaviors (externalizing, internalizing) influence and are influenced by academic difficulties (i.e., poor academic achievement) from kindergarten to third grade. Participants included approximately 18,000 students (51.22% boys; 46.81% white), derived from a nationally representative sample in the United States in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2011 (ECLS-K: 2011). Data from teacher-ratings of the child’s internalizing (low self-esteem, anxiety, loneliness, or sadness) and externalizing behaviors (fighting, arguing, showing anger, impulsively acting, and disruptive behaviors) and child direct assessment in academic achievement (reading, math) were collected yearly from kindergarten to third grade. Cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM) was employed to examine reciprocal relationships between problem behaviors and academic achievement over time while controlling for gender and ethnicity.

This study was one of the first to investigate the reciprocal relationships between student problem behaviors and academic achievement in early childhood. The first CLPM examining the longitudinal relationships between internalizing problem behaviors and academic achievement showed proper model fit (χ2(18) = 679.739, p < .001). Internalizing problem behaviors negatively predicted academic achievement in reading and math (β = -.052, K to 1st grade; β = -.014, 1st to 2nd grade; β = -.013, 2nd to 3rd grade; p < .001). Academic achievement also negatively predicted internalizing problem behaviors (β = -.134, K to 1st grade; β = -.170, 1st to 2nd grade; β = -.113, 2nd to 3rd grade; p < .001). The second CLPM examining the longitudinal relationships between externalizing problem behaviors and academic achievement also showed model fit (χ2(18) = 1106.618, p < .001). Higher externalizing problem behaviors predicted lower academic achievement from kindergarten to 1st grade (β = -.053) and 2nd to 3rd grade (β = -.015), but not from 1st to 2nd grade. Greater academic achievement consistently predicted lower externalizing problem behaviors (β = -.070, K to 1st grade; β = -.045, 1st to 2nd grade; β = -.028, 2nd to 3rd grade; p < .001). Discussion focuses on the understanding of developmental mechanism and leveraging the information in the intervention design to mitigate maladaptive adjustment.

Authors